Signs of Caregiver Stress – Anxiety May Be the Worst

By Harriet Hodgeson

Taking care of my mother for nine years taught me about caregiver stress. My mother had progressive dementia and, as the years passed, she turned into a stranger. I didn’t know her any more. Though my husband often helped with caregiving tasks, most of the responsibilities were mine. Caregiving became a lonely experience.

“Many caregivers do most or all of the caregiving for a loved one alone,” according to the Elder Independence of Maine Website. The organization lists the warning signs of stress in its article, “The Stresses of Caregiving.” The signs of stress include denial, anger, social withdrawal, anxiety, depression, exhaustion, sleeplessness, irritability, lack of concentration, and personal health problems.

The Alzheimer’s Association lists the same signs in a Website article, “Caregiver Stress.” According to the article, “Too much stress can be damaging to both a caregiver and the person with Alzheimer’s.” This comment also applies to those who are caring for someone with sudden or chronic illness. I had all of the signs of caregiving, but anxiety was the worst. My anxiety could be divided into four parts.

1. Financial anxiety. I moved my mother to Minnesota and found a senior housing apartment for her. After she moved in I discovered she had been defrauded of $50,000 and her remaining money was almost gone. But she continued to spend money at an alarming rate. In fact, she became an addictive spender. Needless to say, I worried about her spending constantly.

2. Behavior anxiety. My mother became an angry, unpredictable person. She had a fist fight with one of the senior housing residents and stole a teddy bear from another. She put a can of soda in the microwave and it caught fire and melted. She went for a walk, fell down and injured her shoulder so badly that surgeons had to install a new socket. “What will happen next?” became the question of the day.

3. Anticipatory grief anxiety. On a snowy, sub-zero night she called to tell me she was running away. Her plan was to return to Long Island and stay with friends. Unfortunately, all of her friends had died. So I called her doctor and he transferred her to nursing care. She lived there for several years and the day I dreaded finally came. My mother didn’t recognize family members or me. Each morning I wondered if this would be the day she died.

4. Personal anxiety. I was so immersed in caregivng that I didn’t take good care of myself. Physically run down, I was susceptible to colds, flu, and strep throat. During nine years of caregiving I gained 25 pounds. The weight gain was embarrassing and I wondered if I would be able to shed the extra pounds.

If you have several signs of stress, act on your behalf now. Don’t risk burn out. According to a WebMD article, “Heart Disease: Recognizing Caregiver Burnout,” caregivers who have burn out “may experience fatigue, stress, anxiety and depression.” Other signs of burnout include a lack of interest in activities, weight gain/loss, getting sick often, physical and emotional exhaustion.

To care for others you must care for yourself. Whether it is reading, listening to music, or going for a walk, try to do something for yourself each day. Difficult as it can be, caregiving is an expression of love, and you can give yourself credit for that.

Copyright 2009 by Harriet Hodgson

Feeling Sporty?  Popular Sports and Activities Among Seniors

By Senior Daily Living

If you feel like you need to get out more, you’re not alone.  Senior citizens and non-seniors alike are in need of consistent physical exercise.  Sporty activities are an enjoyable way to get your body moving, but not all forms are best for senior citizens.  Seek out those sports that you enjoy and that exert your body to a comfortable degree.  Here are some of the top ranked sports for the active senior:

Continue reading HERE.

Here is a great article from the New York Times.  If you are in need of assistance for an aging senior in Tacoma WA, visit us at www.heartwarmingcare.com.

About 30 percent of adult children in the United States contribute financially to their parents’ care, according to the Pew Research Center. On average these children pay $2,400 a year on everything from uncovered medical expenses to making sure the refrigerator is stocked each week. The money often goes to parents who diligently saved all their lives, but in the face of longer life spans and chronic illness, the savings just isn’t enough.

Continue reading HERE.

Global Alzheimer’s cases expected to rise sharply

“The number of people with Alzheimer’s disease isn’t creeping up, it’s briskly rising, according to a new report.”

Continue reading HERE.

Here is a great article that I found by Senior Daily Living.  Visit us at www.heartwarmingcare.com if you need help for an aging senior in the area.

“As we age, we naturally have difficulty remembering things or finding the right words to say. This is normal. However, Dementia is not normal. The condition causes mental changes that make it difficult to function and carry out our normal lives, not just remember names and dates.”

Continue reading HERE.

Helping Elderly Leave Nursing Homes for a Home

Walter Brown never wanted to live in a nursing home, but when he had a stroke two years ago, he saw little choice. Mr. Brown, 72, could not walk, use his left arm or transfer himself into his wheelchair.

Continue reading this wonderful story HERE.

Study Suggests Hairstylists Can Help Identify Senior Citizens in Need of Health Services

‘Hair stylists are in a great position to notice when their older clients are starting to suffer from depression, dementia, or self-neglect’

By Jeff Grabmeier

Hairstylists may have a unique opportunity to help steer their elderly clients to needed health services, according to a small, exploratory study.

Continue reading HERE.

Stay Alert on Alzheimer’s Disease

By: Barbara Rockwell

The term dementia refers to a brain disorder that demonstrates itself in several ways. A person may easily become confused even in known settings, may ask questions repeatedly, or may neglect such basic things as their own hygiene or basic safety issues. Alzheimer’s disease is the most common form of dementia linked with old age.

The disease is named after German Doctor Alois Alzheimer. In 1906, Dr. Alzheimer noticed variations in the brain tissue of a patient of his that died with unusual mental illnesses and dementia. His study guided him to discover anomalous clumps and tangles of fiber in the brains of those patients who were suffering from this same disease.

Thus, whilst it was common for persons who were older and losing their mental faculties to be dismissed as “senile,” Dr. Alzheimer was able to pinpoint the actual breakdown in the brain that led to the loss of their mental faculties.

According to the National Institute on Aging varied test conclusions, there are actual brain changes in persons with Alzheimer’s disease. They can find out how nerve cells die in areas of the brain that affect memory and basic abilities. It may seem strange, but everything that we do on a daily basis is because of memory.

We remember that we need to take a shower on a regular basis that we need to shut the door behind us when we leave the house. We don’t realize that we’re doing these things because of memory, and assume that they just happen naturally. But when those memories break down because of Alzheimer’s or any other mental disorder, even the most basic everyday functions begin to be confusing or neglected.

In fact, the brain works by a series of connections between nerve endings, all of which are related. For example, the part of the brain that controls speech sends signals to the nerves that spark the muscles and parts of the mouth when we wish to talk. Of course, all of our mental and physical functions work this way.

With Alzheimer’s disease, these nerve signals are disrupted or broken. If the brain cannot continue to make connections in the nerve cells that control memory, all the basic functions are disrupted. The brain can’t memorize that it just asked a question, so a person repeats it. They can’t remember their own children, so they are now strangers. Alzheimer’s can be a very frightening and debilitating disease for the patients and the families as well.

Article Source: http://myeldercarearticles.com

What is memory loss?

Memory loss is something we all experience in life. We forget familiar names, we cannot remember where we left our wallets and purses the previous evening, and we can’t remember everything needed at the grocery store without having a list. This type of memory loss is perfectly normal and as we age, such mild forgetfulness may start happening more and more.

Continue reading HERE.  Visit www.heartwarmingcare.com for help with an aging loved one in the Tacoma area.

Baby boomers should plan ahead for late-in-life care

(ARA) – Baby boomers rocked Woodstock, protested wars, rallied for civil rights and today have a solid reputation as professionals who work hard and play harder. But as record numbers of boomers continue to age, their health problems rise in direct proportion. If you’re a member of this generation and haven’t yet made decisions about your late-in-life health care, someone else could make them for you.

Without explicit, documented directions about how you want your health care and end-of-life issues handled, decisions about your care will fall to someone else if you become ill and are unable to make your wishes known. Having an advance care plan will give you peace of mind, secure in the knowledge that your health care choices will be respected, even if you can’t communicate them.

An advance care plan ensures your care is customized to reflect your personal preferences and health needs, as well as any social, cultural or religious requirements. The Heart Failure Society of America has compiled information to explain the benefits of advance care planning that is helpful not only for those with a chronic condition, such as heart failure, but for anyone planning ahead for the future.

Important terms to know when beginning advance care planning include:

Advance care directive:
This document provides clear evidence of your wishes regarding treatment and can include a living will, a durable health care power of attorney and a statement about organ donation.

Do-not-resuscitate order:
This directive made by you (or your family, in consultation with the doctor) tells doctors, nurses and rescue personnel what they should or should not do when a person stops breathing or when their heart stops. A DNR order can also include instructions on whether or not to use different methods to revive a person.

Living will:
This legal document allows a person who is unable to participate in decisions about their medical care to express their wishes about life-sustaining treatment. A living will is typically used during a terminal illness when a person is unable to communicate. Through it, you can set limits on what medical treatments — such as CPR, blood transfusions, surgery, kidney dialysis or other invasive measures — you will allow.

Health care power of attorney:
This document allows someone you designate to make all health care decisions for you in the event you’re unable to make them for yourself. This includes the decision to refuse life-sustaining treatment. You can give someone a general power of attorney or limit their decision making to certain issues by including instructions about your care.

Financial plan:
If you and your family have concerns about paying for medical care or hospital bills, a financial plan can help you work out the issues and provide for your family in the event of your death.

Talk to a health care professional about where to find further information about advance care planning as well as to discuss various health care options. You may also wish to consult a lawyer to help ensure your plan meets state legal requirements and your individual wishes. While it may be a difficult discussion, be sure your family knows and understands your wishes for care. Discussing the issues in advance will make implementing them easier should it become necessary. This advice is even more important if your have parents or older relatives who have not yet taken these steps. Please share these ideas with those you love.

For more information on advance care planning, visit the Heart Failure Society of America’s patient education Web site at www.AboutHF.org.

Courtesy of ARAcontent